A series of state and federal lawsuits is bringing the clinical definitions of obesity and related treatments into the legal sphere, causing insurers and employers to reconsider their coverage policies. These cases aim to establish whether excluding obesity treatments from insurance plans constitutes discrimination under both state and federal laws.
One pivotal case involves Rebecca Holland, a public school district employee, who sued Elevance Health, Inc. on September 20, 2024. Holland’s lawsuit argues that the Maine Education Association Benefits Trust Plan’s exclusion of pricey GLP-1 weight loss drugs and its stringent requirements for bariatric surgery effectively discriminate against individuals with obesity. The plan, for instance, covers bariatric surgery only for individuals diagnosed with “severe obesity” after a five-year waiting period.
These lawsuits are setting a precedent for how obesity treatments should be regarded under anti-discrimination laws. Currently, there is a growing need to determine if obesity should be classified and treated as a disability, especially in light of costly medical treatments that many insurance policies either partially cover or exclude altogether. The burgeoning volume of these cases underscores an increasing demand for legal clarity on this issue, as more workers seek coverage for obesity treatments.
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